back to article Philippines pinches nose, averts eyes, bans cybersex

The government of the Philippines – which presides over a population that’s a jewel in the Vatican crown – has passed a cybersecurity law which, among other things, outlaws cybersex. That country’s new “cybercrime act” – ostensibly a bill banning computer security attacks – also drops a maximum 12-year, no-parole prison …

COMMENTS

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Hope the bloke who runs exploitedteensasia.com managed to get out of the country pronto 'cause he's screwed, especially if it's consecutive sentences for each count.

    1. JaitcH
      Happy

      Parental Controls?

      I guess your system doesn't have parental controls! Just make sure you clear out your cache and do all the other necessary things to defeat Plod!

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Parental Controls?

        Not a problem for me, mate, but you really should secure your wi-fi network a little better.

  2. Demosthenese

    No cybersex but...

    Sending your daughter into a life of slavery in Saudi Arabia is still ok. Priorities - has anyone seen them?

  3. json

    It's a stupid law...

    ... people will just happily use proxy servers. If you criticize, be ready for be sued!

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: It's a stupid law...

      yes, but will get get local guys/ladies via a proxy? It is important to many!

  4. tkioz
    Big Brother

    They love us long time no more?

    But seriously, unenforceable laws aren't worth the paper they are written on. They are actually counter-productive, imbuing a culture of "meh it's a stupid law, why should I follow it" that can lead to badness.

  5. badmonkey
    Devil

    At least they make it easy for the civilized world to tell

    which societies are determined to remain in the dark ages.

    1. badmonkey

      Re: At least they make it easy for the civilized world to tell

      ...which also makes it easier for the less desirables to identify where the more desperate girls are and so exploit them. The idea that their repression and cultural backwardness might be the root cause of the problem is a little inconvenient when you're desperately clinging onto power any way you can.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    now with China...

    one ofthe biggest hypocrites in the world!

    only reason why youjizz is not blocked in China is because government officials often visits it.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Cam girl nonsense

    The whole cam girl thing is absolute nonsense. I've had a first hand look at the cam girl industry in the PH and the girls certainly aren't being forced into any thing. Girls with little education who couldn't get a decent job are making double what those with degrees working in call centers are making.

    You see stories where they talk about closing down these cam operations and 'saving' the girls. No one has been saved. You've just taken away a 40,000 PHP a month job from someone who will now be unemployed , begging on the streets or doing some menial job for 3,000 PHP a month.

    This is just another example of the church pushing their BS into the government and laws.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    The irony

    So cybersex is illegal but the 'girly bars' that operate along Quezon Ave. and other locations are still legal.

  9. MachDiamond Silver badge

    Who goes to jail?

    Like as not, the people getting busted (if any) will be the girls and less so the operators. I have seen some income numbers from cam-girl sites and it is not a bad living. It pays much better than fast food or retail and it's much safer than prostitution. Now that it's illegal, there might be problems. If the girls complain, they might be arrested. Site operators will be taking a big risk so why not go all the way and use slave girls and pay them a pittance or not at all? Any market with a demand will be serviced.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Who goes to jail?

      As always, the site operators who pay off the right people won't have any problems. It's still a pretty big risk though :) Philippines prison isn't much fun.

      1. Old Handle

        Re: Who goes to jail?

        Not much of a risk if they never set foot in the country.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Meh

    "...12 years in the slammer for ‘comment trolls’"

    Where's that bit, then? I couldn't find anything in the law that even resembles trolling.

    The cyber-sex bit seems odd, but I note that it is acts done "for favor or consideration", so 'just for fun' is OK?

    What I do find odd is that it doesn't say much about what are apparently the most heinous of crimes (in this neck of the woods, at least) - offenses against copyright.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: "...12 years in the slammer for ‘comment trolls’"

      I didn't find that either. I actually read the whole bill (the PDF was pretty bad quality). One thing to note is that (like many other countries but not the US) you can be charged for not giving them your password if they have a warrant. Laws are often abused by local politicians there so I'm sure they'll find a way to abuse this.

      They cannot pay top IT talent to stick around and enforce this law. The best and brightest leave the country and work overseas for much higher salaries. On top of that, the Philippines is a haven for anonymous internet access. There's tons of cybercafes without CCTVs in/around them and you can buy throw-away cellphones and SIM cards without having photo ID.

      On top of all of this, a small % of the computers there are actually secure. Most of my Filipino friends simply ignore Windows updates because their connections are slow and/or unstable. Even if they "catch" a person breaking the law, that computer may have just been hacked.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: "...12 years in the slammer for ‘comment trolls’"

        Passwords not mentioned specifically, but I suspect it would fall under this paragraph:

        Pursuant thereof, the law enforcement authorities may order any person who has knowledge about the functioning of the computer system and the measures to protect and preserve the computer data therein to provide, as is reasonable, the necessary information, to enable the undertaking of the search, seizure and examination.

        Section 15e

        http://www.gov.ph/2012/09/12/republic-act-no-10175/

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: "...12 years in the slammer for ‘comment trolls’"

          SEC. 20. Noncompliance. — Failure to comply with the provisions of Chapter IV hereof specifically the orders from law enforcement authorities shall be punished as a violation of Presidential Decree No. 1829 with imprisonment of prision correctional in its maximum period or a fine of One hundred thousand pesos (Php100,000.00) or both, for each and every noncompliance with an order issued by law enforcement authorities. <-- not giving your passwords as requested.

          ----------------------------

          Prision correccional, suspension, and destierro. — The duration of the penalties of prision correccional, suspension and destierro shall be from six months and one day to six years, except when suspension is imposed as an accessory penalty, in which case, its duration shall be that of the principal penalty.

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Considering how easy it is to get laid there, I'd have thought they would want the girls to be safer and behind a web cam.

  12. JaitcH
    FAIL

    I guess the new president ...

    thinks the pope is a good guy. The pope has no morals.

    With a population of 94,852,030 (2011-Source: World Bank) and many of them in abject poverty, they are entitled to make money, even if it is satisfying the sexual desires of the West. I know no other country which exports such a high proportion of it's females - THAT is what is disgusting about the Phils Government.

    Screw the pope, if he wants to financially support such countries, let him do so ... only thing is he has no money, it's been spent defending preachers charged with attacking children and paying the fines.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: I guess the new president ...

      Well it's not just noynoy (current pres.). There's been a huge conflict of interest between gov and church for a long time.

      That's why it's still illegal to have an abortion and teaching people about contraceptives like condoms and birth control pills is so taboo. The church don't like it and the government enforce it.

      Check out the RH bill - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reproductive_Health_Bill

  13. Crisp
    Trollface

    Why are they picking on the trolls?

    What did they ever do to you?

  14. ravenviz Silver badge
    FAIL

    cybersex provisions

    cybersex provisions in the bill are designed to protect girls from being trafficked into being 'cam girls' against their will

    How about having provisons against trafficking instead? Would my ISP go to prison if my girlfriend shows me 'consideration' over a webcam?

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